Ways to save on brews

[unionrdr]

Well,here's another low end one. I ordered from midwest last friday,got it yesterday afternoon. I ordered $63 worth + change,& got free shipping,which would've been $12.72. I ordered to batches wirth,plus a couple other things. Just saving on shipping helped pay for the 1000ML erlenmyer flask & 5G paint strainer bag I picked up at the lhbs a lil while ago.

 

[njs170]

What are some of the cheaper sites to order from?

I have had good luck with Mid West Supplies.

 

[whoaru99]

Men without swmbo need not speak up then! My family has a budget and we have to make choices just like the op. damn you bachelors! Quit teasing us with your free time and disposable income!

The resources still are not unlimited...just almost unlimited.

 

[mrmiyagi]

Slanting yeast or making glycerol stocks (preferred) can also save money. Just have to plan your brew day in advance to have a sufficient starter built up.

 

[pauly71]

Small money saver. This one will add up over time. Don't throw out that starsan each session. Mix up a batch of starsan and keep it around. Using ph test strips you can check to make sure it still has sanitizing potential. Narrow range ph test strips are available on eBay. From reading around this forum consensus seems to be that starsan should be under 3.5. Some users say a bit lower, like 3.0

 

[brettg20]

Hops run no more than $2 per ounce (and most hops I buy in bulk for about $1 to $1.50 per pound).

Did you misplace your decimal point? $1 per pound?

 

[lgilmore]

I disagree when talking spending with the wife about beer. Big dollars sound like big dollars. We had a quick conversation at the table about cost. "how much does it cost you to make a bottle of beer?" 50 cents a bottle. "oh, ok." About all I added was buying the same bottle from a store would be $2. then another "oh".

Lots of good things about saving some money while brewing, but I think the poster is actually paying about as much for the stuff he adds to a basic batch than the cost of the batch it's self. There are some really good basic styles of beer out there, that don't need a whole lot of stuff in them to be good. maybe try a few. cheers.

 

[rklinck]

Sorry, meant $1 to $1.5 per ounce when I buy by the pound.

 

[unionrdr]

When midwest started carrying NZ hops last summer,I copped a pound of 5 different ones for $1.25-1.50 per ounce. Got some US fuggle & czech saaz as well as some haulertaur mittlfru. Good price so I stocked up. Just got a 1000ML erlenmyer flask & 5G bag for biab yesterday too. Now I got the right stuff to do starters in for the liquid German yeast I bought. Got two vials of it,so washing that is gunna save $$ as well. Those vials are $6.50 a pop.

 

[bigadam]

Do you find it's cheaper to order from an online supplier than go to your local supplier? My local store seems to have everything I would ever need, but only one brand/style/what have you. I went for a heater for my second primary and they had only one option. If it's easier or if there is at least more variety, maybe I'd be better off buying most of what I'd need in bulk from an online supplier and skip the trip to the local store.

I know some have mentioned about my extraneous ingredient costs, and I agree that I need to cut those. In a couple beers the extra stuff has ended up costing me the same as the rest of it. I made an Irish Car Bomb Stout (I think I got the recipe off of here), that involved vanilla beans, Irish whiskey and a heavy grain bill. But it was worth it for the great beer I made. I've never been a basic beer guy, but maybe for the time being I'll have to try to make more of those types until the leash is let out a bit on the budget.

 

[rklinck]

Do you find it's cheaper to order from an online supplier than go to your local supplier? My local store seems to have everything I would ever need, but only one brand/style/what have you. I went for a heater for my second primary and they had only one option. If it's easier or if there is at least more variety, maybe I'd be better off buying most of what I'd need in bulk from an online supplier and skip the trip to the local store.

It really depends on where you are, how far in advance you think of things, and what you are looking to buy.

I'm in D.C., so I have pretty easy access to two LHBS's. I try to buy stuff from them as much as possible. Part of it is that I like to buy local, part of it is that I often need something relatively quickly, and part of it is that their prices are generally pretty competitive. For bulk grain (50 or 55 pound bags of grain), they are definitely cheaper once I account for the shipping costs from online shops. The other issue is that my local shops don't carry certain ingredients (e.g., K-97 dry German Ale yeast) or are hit and miss with availability (e.g., spalt hops). So I buy that stuff online.

No matter what you are looking for, online will only be cheaper if you think about it far enough in advance to get regular shipping (or the flat rate shipping from places like Annapolis Home Brew).

 

[rklinck]

I know some have mentioned about my extraneous ingredient costs, and I agree that I need to cut those. In a couple beers the extra stuff has ended up costing me the same as the rest of it. I made an Irish Car Bomb Stout (I think I got the recipe off of here), that involved vanilla beans, Irish whiskey and a heavy grain bill. But it was worth it for the great beer I made. I've never been a basic beer guy, but maybe for the time being I'll have to try to make more of those types until the leash is let out a bit on the budget.

It is obviously a matter of taste, but you can make yourself a regular dry stout fairly cheaply and add whiskey and vanilla to individual beers if the mood strikes you. In fact, a dry stout should be one of the cheaper beers to make because it should not have a high OG or alcohol content. Dry stouts top out at an OG of 1.050 (and true Guinness is below 4% abv). Stouts also don't need exotic ingredients -- depending on your efficiency, a good 5 gallon brew would include 7 lbs base malt, 1 lb flaked barley, and 1 lb roasted barley, 2 ounces of Kent Golding hops, and a packet of dry yeast (Danstar's Nottingham works nicely). You should be able to brew that for under $25.

 

[shoreman]

Simple grain bills, dry yeast & buy hops in 1/2-1 lbs bags if pellets in the beginning of the season. Go for the standard hops like cascade, galena etc

You can easily brew a pale ale for $15 or so

 

[pauly71]

bigadam has picked out a very popular, simple-to-brew and moderately priced recipe for a Centennial Blonde: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

In the spirit of HBT fraternity I will be brewing this recipe as well! I call on all cash-strapped home brewers out there to brew up a batch along with us!

Follow us online as we post through the brewing of this beer. Can $22 worth of ingredients make a drinkable beer? Will other's join us in making this recipe? Will the whole enterprise devolve into a flame war? Subscribe and find out!

 

[unionrdr]

I brew partial mash pale ales for $25. A couple dollars less now that I have two vials of WLP029 to wash a few times each.

 

[BlackRock]

This is a great thread! I just did my first AG batch last week and boy was that nice to the wallet. Instead of paying 30-40 bucks or more LME/DME my grain bill was less than $15.

I figure my goal is not necessarily to brew cheap beer, but if I can easily reduce spending then I can use the cash I've got to brew more beer. If I'm spending 30-50 a batch, that's fine, but I can't brew every weekend at that price. Now if I can do 15-25 a batch that allows me to nearly double production.

 

[unionrdr]

With washed yeast & local spring water for 10c per gallon,my PM beers can go down to about $15.50. That's pretty good for these parts,what with all the wealthy folks around.

 

[rklinck]

With washed yeast & local spring water for 10c per gallon,my PM beers can go down to about $15.50. That's pretty good for these parts,what with all the wealthy folks around.

That's pretty impressive. When I was doing PM, I would use a 3 pound bag of DME and that alone cost me $11.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,true. But the grains are cheap,as is the local spring water. Washing the yeast will save $6.50 per vial. So it isn't hard with a little snooping & calculating.

 

[pauly71]

Got around to the Centennial Blonde Cheap Brew Challenge this weekend. Recipe is here.